Regulatory Changes to Dry Cow Therapy in 2022
Caroline Garvan, Superintending Veterinary Inspector in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) gives an overview of the regulatory changes, the changes in the legislation that relates specifically to dry cow therapy.
It is very important that you are aware of these new changes because this legislation has come into play since January 2022 and it is specifically to protect human health. This legislation is there to protect human health against antimicrobial resistance. What is antimicrobial resistance? It is antibiotic resistance - the antibiotics that we depend on, that our animals depend on to treat disease, are no longer as effective as they used to be because they have been overused. What this legislation is saying is that we need to reduce our use of antibiotics in animals and in particular around mastitis control, particularly at drying off. The new legislation is saying that you cannot approach cows in the same way, you can only treat them when they absolutely need an antibiotic tube at drying off. It is about a selective approach - looking at each cow individually.
New Veterinary Medicines Regulations to Protect Health
- Strict controls to reduce antimicrobial use
- Actions to address AMR - Develop a sustainable Selective Dry Cow Strategy on your farm
Dry Cow Therapy 2022
- No blanket approach to the use of antibiotics
- A selective approach is now necessary
Selective Dry Cow Strategy
- Individual cow risk assessment required
- Sealer only in suitable cows
- Dry cow tubes - Only as much as necessary, as little as possible
Which Cows will need Dry Cow Therapy?
Your vet needs individual cow information which includes:
- Regular milk recording results
- Records of all mastitis cases
- Previous treatment outcomes
- Milk quality data including SCC, bacterial culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing
- Individual CMT results